I used to love Meet the Press, the Sunday morning TV show where I’d gain new insights into a pressing public issue. Today the show feels more like a platform for propaganda from different sides of the political debate. For example, when guest Rachael Maddow tried to dig into the “fundamental disagreement about the facts” [...]

The market share battlefield and its weaponry changed considerably as our economy transitioned from the Industrial Age to the Information Age. In particular, the growing sophistication of marketers (and IT needed to support them) has been nothing short of breathtaking. The movement from the Industrial Age to the Information Age increased customer power, expanded offerings [...]

“Today everything computes. Intelligence has been infused into things no one would recognize as computers: appliances, cars, roadways, clothes, even rivers and cornfields.” So begins an IBM Smarter Planet ad in the Wall Street Journal arguing that computing must get smarter to manage today’s wealth of data. This data is not your father’s data of [...]

Imagine being a 4h grade teacher with a class of 25 students with widely different levels of math aptitude and competency. How do you challenge the most adept students? How do you help the laggards without boring the stars to tears? The only practical option seems to be to teach to the middle. That it, [...]

While bets are being placed on whether the Green Bay Packers will beat the Pittsburgh Steelers for the Super Bowl ring, I’m placing my bet on a dramatic transformation of retail chains’ business models over the next decade.  The football outcome can’t be predicted – both teams are awesome, and we can’t predict players’ energy [...]

I watched Food, Inc. over the holiday weekend, a documentary about US food companies whose products fill grocery store shelves and bins and supply our numerous restaurant chains. I’m a pragmatic independent, so I’m able to see through the one-sided nature of the filmmaker’s criticisms of food companies. But there’s significant merit in the film [...]

I love when trends come together, prompting innovations that make the world a better place. Frankly, this observation helps me recover my optimism after the news of the day invokes discouragement. Three trends – crowd sourcing, greater entrepreneurship within academic scientific communities and scarcity of natural resources – have come together to create asknature.org. The [...]

A potential client in a technology industry called me with an all-too-familiar story about his privately held company: • Established decades ago as a niche technology company • Successfully executed many technology evolutions and disruptions • Earned price premiums for decades due to outstanding service and quality • Survived the 2008 decline – hardest years [...]

The 2008-2009 economic recession changed customer and business behaviors, not unlike how a hurricane reshapes the built and natural environment. If you are not incorporating recession-induced changes into your business model strategy, your market position will weaken. The Recession Has Changed Consumer Behavior – Forever A recent in-depth study of consumer attitudes and behaviors by [...]

The President’s current political, foreign policy and domestic issues remind me of running a business in challenging times. Never forget about customer experience and how markets change. Our economy totally tanked. Yet the Obama administration and Congress marched forward into health care as if nothing was really different. A more moderate approach to health care [...]